As an information recording medium capable of optically recording information, there are known a DVD-R/RW and a CD-R/RW for example, and there exists an information recording apparatus for recording the information onto the information recording medium. Such the information recording apparatus is also called “drive apparatus”. At the time of information recording, the drive apparatus irradiates, onto the information recording medium, a recording light such as a laser light with an appropriate recording power, and forms pits correspondent to the recording information onto the recording surface of the information recording medium. Thereby, the drive apparatus records the information. Therefore, for precise information recording, it is necessary that the recording light of an appropriate recording power is maintained.
The drive apparatus is usually shipped after the recording power calibration in the production process. On the contrary, after the shipment, though a correction correspondent to temperature change due to circumstances is executed, the recording power calibration is not particularly performed. The correction correspondent to the temperature change is a process which corrects a current value for driving a laser diode based on the temperature of the circumstances in which the recording drive apparatus is put and a temperature characteristic of the laser diode loaded on the drive apparatus.
On the disc such as the CD-R/RW, the DVD-R/RW and a DVD+R/RW, information (hereinafter referred to as “optimum recording information”), such as an optimum recording power value and a recording power ratio for performing the precise recording onto the recording medium, is prerecorded. It is noted that the recording power ratio is a ratio of plural levels in a laser driving waveform (also referred to as “strategy”) at the time of recording the information. Therefore, based on the optimum recording information recorded on the disc, the drive apparatus performs test recording for determining a preferable recording condition and actual information recording. Namely, the drive apparatus performs the recording by driving the laser diode so that the recording power meets the optimum recording power value and recording power ratio recorded on the disc.
However, even if the recording is performed on the basis of the optimum recording information recorded on the disc, the recording laser light actually outputted from the pickup is not always the optimum recording power ratio due to an error of the power calibration performed at the time of the shipment and the temperature change in the circumferences in which the drive apparatus is used. In the case, the best recording condition cannot be obtained in the test recording, and the best recording characteristic cannot be obtained in the actual information recording. This is particularly remarkable at the time of so-called high-speed recording at double, 4-times or higher speed.